Daily Press News Editor
MONTROSE — Outdoor programs through Alternative Youth Adventures are on hold after the state suspended the organization’s licenses Wednesday.
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The program’s parent company, Community Education Centers, Inc., denied negligence in the boy’s death.
AYA, which runs wilderness therapy programs for at-risk or adjudicated youths, was being investigated by Montrose County authorities after Jensen’s death on Little Red Mountain May 2, near the Mesa County line.
The Mesa County Coroner, to whom Jensen’s autopsy was transferred while jurisdiction was being determined, said in a Thursday news release the youth died from a methicillin-resistant staph aureus infection.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office confirmed Thursday AYA’s therapeutic residential childcare and residential childcare licenses were summarily suspended at the request of the Colorado Department of Human Services.
“It’s the department’s belief the child reported symptoms of observable signs of infection that were neglected and he was denied proper medical treatment,” Liz McDonough, Colorado Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman said Friday.
“That’s the basis for the summary suspension. The kids have been removed and are being put in alternative placements.”
The suspension means AYA is prohibited from engaging in the practices its licenses permitted it to undertake, AG spokesman Nate Stauch said.
AYA has the right to an expedited hearing on the matter, but according to the suspension order, it had to surrender its license immediately. Further proceedings will determine whether the license should be revoked.
Jensen was participating in a program run through the Montrose office when he died.
According to the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, AYA staff members tried to revive Jensen and notified emergency dispatch. They brought him to an evacuation point, and Mesa County deputies responded, but CPR efforts were unsuccessful and Jensen was pronounced dead.
AYA Vice President Bill Palatucci said the organization will fight for its licenses and its staff. “We plan to contest the suspension. We firmly believe the staff did everything appropriately and correctly and there were no obvious signs that this juvenile was distressed,” he said.
“We’re very happy to work with the department to review policies and procedures, but we don’t see the need for suspension right now.”
District Attorney Myrl Serra said previously the matter was still under active investigation.
Serra said Thursday he had no information about the suspension.
Palatucci said the Little Red Mountain outing included four staff members and nine youth clients, which is typical. The program’s licensing allowed a ratio of one to four, he said.
He would not say why Jensen was in the program, citing confidentiality concerns, but did say the boy’s enrollment had been court-ordered in Utah.
Program outings have ceased for now, Palatucci said, and AYA has complied with the suspension. “We’ll have to deal with the hearing procedure the suspension puts in motion,” he said. “It adds to the difficulties of the staff and clients. We will have to find alternative placements for youths in programs that can accommodate them.”
He said AYA was going to stand behind its employees. “While outings have been suspended, our staff will remain in place,” Palatucci said.
“We don’t think anybody did anything wrong. It was a very tragic set of circumstances. The underlying cause (of death) was just undetectable.”
McDonough said the incident was “disturbing.”
“This tragic death of this young man is something we have to look at in terms of how our kids are cared for and to ensure that, no matter what the nature of the program, that appropriate medical procedures are in place to handle what may come up. Our thoughts go out to the young man’s family in Utah.”
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